|
| |
Steps to a good confession
 | Examine your conscience - what sins have you committed since your last
good confession. |
| Be sincerely sorry for your sins. |
| Confess your sins to the priest. |
| Make certain that you confess all your mortal sins and the number of them.
|
| After your confession, do the penance the priest gives to you. |
A guide to a good confession
- You always have the option to go to confession anonymously, that is,
behind a screen or face to face, if you so desire.
- After the priest greets you in the name of Christ, make the sign of the
cross. He may choose to recite a reading from Scripture, after which you say:
"Bless me Father for I have sinned. It has been (state how long) since my last
confession. These are my sins."
- Tell your sins simply and honestly. You might even want to
discuss the circumstances and the root causes of your sins and asks the priest
for advice or direction.
- Listen to the advice the priest gives you and accept the penance from him.
Then make an Act of Contrition for your sins.
- The priest will then dismiss you with the words of praise: "Give thanks to
the Lord for He is good. You respond: "For His mercy endures forever." The
priest will then conclude with: "The Lord has freed you from your sins. Go in
peace." And you respond by saying: "Thanks be to God."
- Spend some time with Our Lord thanking and praising Him for the girt of
His mercy. Try to perform your penance as soon as possible.
Prayer before Confession
O most merciful God! Prostrate at your feet, I implore your forgiveness. I
sincerely desire to leave all my faults and to confess my sins with all
sincerity to you and to your priest. I am a sinner, have mercy on me, O Lord.
Give me a lively faith and a firm hope in the Passion of my Redeemer. Give me,
for your mercy's sake a sorrow for having offended so good a God.
Mary, my mother, refuge of sinners, prays for me that I may make a good
confession. Amen.
An act of contrition
Oh my God, I am sorry for my sins with all my heart. In choosing to do wrong
and failing to do good, I have sinned against you whom I should love above all
things. I firmly intend, with your help, to do penance, to sin no more, and to
avoid whatever leads me to sin. Our Savior Jesus Christ suffered and died for
us. In His name, my God, have mercy.
Amen.
Another act of contrition
O my God, I am heartily sorry for having offended You, and I detest all my
sins because I dread the loss of Heaven and the pains of Hell, but most of all
because they offend You, my God, Who are all good and deserving of all my love.
I firmly resolve, with the help of Your grace, to confess my sins, to do
penance, and to amend my life.
Amen.
"Whoever eats the bread and drinks the cup of the Lord unworthily sins against
the Body and Blood of the Lord. ... He who eats and drinks without recognizing
the Body eats and drinks judgment on himself." (1 Cor 11:27-29)
As Catholics, we fully participate in the celebration of the
Eucharistic when we receive Holy Communion. We are encouraged to receive
communion devoutly and frequently.
In order to be properly disposed to receive communion,
participants should not be conscious of grave sin and should have fasted for one
hour. A person who is conscious of grave sin is not to receive the Body and
Blood of our Lord without prior sacramental confession except for grave reason
where there is no opportunity for Confession.
In this case the person is to be mindful of the obligation to
make an act of perfect contrition, including the intention of confessing as soon
as possible (Code of canon Law 916). A frequent reception of the sacrament of
Penance is encouraged for all!
United States Catholic Conference Copyright
1996
Examination of conscience using the 10 Commandments
FIRST COMMANDMENT
"I am the Lord your God. You shall not have strange gods before Me." (Ex 20:2,3)
| Did I doubt or deny that God exists? |
| Did I refuse to believe what God as revealed to us? |
| Did I believe in fortune telling, horoscopes, dreams, the occult,
good-luck charms, tarot cards, palmistry, Ouija boards, seances,
reincarnation? |
| Did I deny that I was Catholic? |
| Did I leave the Catholic Faith? |
| Did I give time to God each day in prayer? |
| Did I love God with my whole heart? |
| Did I despair of or presume on God's mercy? |
| Did I have false gods in my life that I gave greater attention to than
God, like money, profession, drugs, TV, fame, pleasure, property, etc.? |
| Do I seek to surrender myself to God's word as taught by the Church? |
| Have I ever received communion in the state of mortal sin? |
| Have I ever deliberately told a lie in Confession or have I withheld a
mortal sin from the priest in Confession? |
SECOND COMMANDMENT
"You shall not take the Name of the Lord your God in vain." (Ex 20:7)
| Did I blaspheme or insult God? |
| Did I take God's name carelessly or uselessly? |
| Did I curse, or break an oath or vow? |
| Did I get angry with God? |
| Have I wished evil upon any other person? |
| Have I insulted a sacred person or abused a sacred object?
|
THIRD COMMANDMENT
"Remember that you keep holy the Sabbath Day." (Ex 20:8)
| Did I miss Mass Sunday or a Holy Day of Obligation through my own fault?
|
| Did I come to Mass on time? Leave early? |
| Did I do work on Sunday that was not necessary? |
| Did I set aside Sunday as a day of rest and a family day? |
| Did I show reverence in the presence of Jesus in the Most Blessed
Sacrament? |
FOURTH COMMANDMENT
"Honor your father and your mother." (Ex 20:12)
| Did I disobey or disrespect my parents or legitimate superiors? |
| Did I neglect my duties to my husband, wife, children or parents? |
| Did I neglect to give good religious example to my family? |
| Did I fail to actively take an interest in the religious education and
formation of my children? |
| Did I fail to educate myself on the true teachings of the Church? |
| Did I give scandal by what I said or did, especially to the young? |
| Did I cause anyone to leave the faith? |
| Did I cause tension and fights in my family? |
| Did I care for my aged and infirm relatives? |
| Did I give a full day's work for a full day's pay? |
| Did I give a fair wage to my employees? |
FIFTH COMMANDMENT
"You shall not kill." (Ex 20:13)
| Did I kill or physically injure anyone? |
| Did I have an abortion, or advise someone else to have an abortion? (One
who procures and abortion is automatically excommunicated, as is anyone who is
involved in an abortion, Canon 1398. The excommunication will be lifted in the
Sacrament of Reconciliation.) |
| Did I use or cause my spouse to use birth control pills (whether or not
realizing that birth control pills do abort the fetus if and when conceived)?
|
| Did I attempt suicide? |
| Did I take part in or approve of "mercy killing" (euthanasia)?
|
| Did I get angry, impatient, envious, unkind, proud, revengeful, jealous,
hateful toward another, lazy? |
| Did I give bad example by drug abuse, drinking alcohol to excess,
fighting, quarreling? |
| Did I abuse my children? |
| Have I abused alcohol or drugs? |
| Did I give scandal to anyone, thereby leading him or her into sin? |
| Have I mutilated myself through any form of sterilization? |
| Have I encouraged or condoned sterilization? |
| Have I engaged, in any way, in sins against human life such as artificial
insemination or in vitro fertilization? |
SIXTH & NINTH COMMANDMENTS
"You shall not commit adultery." (Ex 20:14) "You shall not desire your
neighbor's wife." (Ex 20:17)
Note: In the area of deliberate sexual sins listed below, all are mortal sins
if there is sufficient reflection and full consent of the will. "No fornicators,
idolaters, or adulterers, no sodomites,... will inherit the kingdom of God." (1
Cor 6:9-10) "Anyone who looks lustfully at a woman has already committed
adultery with her in his thoughts." (Mt 5:28)
| Did I willfully entertain impure thoughts or desires? |
| Did I use impure or suggestive words? Tell impure stories? Listen to them?
|
| Did I deliberately look at impure TV, videos, plays, pictures or movies?
Or deliberately read impure materials? |
| Have I used the internet to find pornography? |
| Did I commit impure acts by myself (masturbation)? |
| Did I commit impure acts with another - fornication (premarital sex),
adultery (sex with a married person)? |
| Did I practice artificial birth control (by pills, device, withdrawal)?
|
| Did I marry or advise anyone to marry outside the Church? |
| Did I avoid the occasions of impurity? |
| Did I try to control my thoughts? |
| Did I engage in homosexual activity? |
| Did I respect all members of the opposite sex, or have I thought of other
people as objects? |
| Did I or my spouse have sterilization done? |
| Did I abuse my marriage rights? |
| Am I careful to dress modestly? |
| Do I pray at once to banish impure thoughts and temptations? |
| Have I behaved in an inappropriate way with members of the opposite sex:
flirting, being superficial, etc.? |
SEVENTH & TENTH COMMANDMENTS
"You shall not steal." (Ex 20:15) "You shall not covet your neighbor's goods."
(Ex 20:17)
| Did I steal, cheat, help or encourage others to steal or keep stolen
goods? Have I made restitution for stolen goods? |
| Did I fulfill my contracts; give or accept bribes; pay my bills; rashly
gamble or speculate; deprive my family of the necessities of life? |
| Did I waste time at work, school or at home? |
| Did I envy other people's families or possessions? |
| Did I make material possessions the purpose of my life? |
| Do I pay my debts promptly? |
| Do I seek to share what I have with the poor? |
| Have I cheated anyone out of what is justly theirs, for example creditors,
insurance companies, big corporations? |
| Am I jealous of what other people have? |
| Do I envy the families or possessions of others? |
| Am I greedy or selfish? |
EIGHTH COMMANDMENT
"You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor." (Ex 20:16)
| Did I lie? |
| Did I deliberately deceive others, or injure others by lies? |
| Did I commit perjury? |
| Did I gossip or reveal others' faults or sins? |
| Did I fail to keep secret what should be confidential? |
| Do I speak badly of others behind their back? |
| Am I sincere in my dealings with others? |
| Am I critical, negative or uncharitable in my thoughts of others? |
| Have I injured the reputation of others by slanders? |
OTHER SINS
| Did I fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday? |
| Did I eat meat on the Fridays of Lent or Ash Wednesday? |
| Did I fail to receive Holy Communion during Eastertime? |
| Did I go to Holy Communion in a state of mortal sin? Without fasting
(water and medicine permitted) for one hour from food and drink? |
| Did I make a bad confession? |
| Did I fail to contribute to the support of the Church? |
|
